updated 11:45 am EDT, Tue April 17, 2012

Cove Point ultrabook reference design shown off

Intel is refining its ultrabooks, having shown off a new reference design at the IDF 2012 show in Beijing last week. Building upon its 13.3-inch touchscreen ultrabook, the so-called Cove Point also doubles as a tablet. The demo unit sported a 12.5-inch touchscreen, two USB 3.0 ports, and an HDMI output.

It also ran on the Consumer Preview of Windows 8 and was powered by an early version of a future Ivy Bridge-based processor. When closed, the screen allows the ultrabook's use as a conventional tablet. Pushing it forward and up reveals a full-size hardware keyboard that effectively turns the device into a small notebook. The Cove Point ultrabook has been in development since 2011.

The demonstrated design would be costly for other manufacturers to adopt, as Intel estimates it would cost nearly $1,000 to manufacture. As such, retail pricing would be significantly higher. [viaWired]